Thomas Daniel Schlee

Two Psalms for Organ op. 74

The first piece "Sicut ros Hermon" (like the dew of Hermon, Ps. 133) meditates on the flow of God's grace, whereby the initial, slowly descending harmonic sequences develop into an emphatic song, followed by a heartfelt, chorale-like coda.
"Si sumpsero pennas auroræ" (I also take the wings of the dawn, Ps. 139) refers to the highly poetic, comforting, but also admonishing image of the psalm: As far as our wings may carry us, God's hand will take us. We will escape neither his mercy nor his judgment. Towards the end of this impressive movement, the music conveys almost haptic moments: you suddenly feel gripped by the powerful "hand" of the tutti sound. Finally, the music returns to the calm of the beginning, but the dialogic figurations echo what has been experienced and recognized.